Improved peat-machine



` 2 Sheets-#Sheet 1. A. MOFFATT. 5

Peat Machine.

No. 55,339. Patented June 5,1855.

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2 Sheets-Sheet 2. A. MOFFATT. l

Peat Machine.

No. 55,339. Patented June 5, 1866.

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UNTTED STATES PATENT OFFICE ARTHUR MOFFATT, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OFCOLUMBIA.

IMPROVED PEAT-MACHINE.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 55,339, dated June 5,1866.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ARTHUR MOFFATT, of the city of Washington, Districtof Columbia, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Machines forTreating or Preparing' Peat 5 and I do hereby declare that thefollowing` is a full, clear, and exact descriptionof the nature,construction, and operation of the same,v suflicient'to enable oneskilled in the art to which it appertains to construct and use the same,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which are made part ofthis speciiication, andin which- Figure l is a side view of a machinemade according' to my invention. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal verticalsection ofthe same. Fig. 3 is a cross-section ofthe same, taken on theline a: m, Fig. l. Fig. 4is a cross-section taken on the line y y ofFig. l. Fig. 5 is a cross-section taken on the line z z, Fig. l.

Similar letters of reference in the several figures indicatecorresponding parts.

This invention relates to an improvement in a machine for treating peat,preparing it for fuel, whereby itis taken in its crude state andsubjected to a crushing and grinding process, and is then compressedinto blocks or bricks suitable for transportation and use.

It consists in a combination and arrangement of, mechanical devices bywhich the crude peat is reduced to a suitable condition for use as fuel.

The extensive deposits of peat which are found in different parts oftheworld have .therefore been utilized only to a veryT limited extent,owing partly to the bulk ofthe material in its crude state as comparedwith its weight when out and dried in the ordinary manner, as well as toits extreme friability, which renders it an unpleasant fuel to use fromthe amount of fine dirt-like material which results from handling it inthis state, and from the rapidity with which, when in this state, it isconsumed, owing to its light porous nature; and, further, on account ofthe difficulties which, despite of numerous and persistent efforts formany years,

have attended the attempts made both in this and in foreign countries tocleanse and condense itin such manner as to secure the greatest amountof serviceable fuel in the least space, while at the same time it shouldbe made in form and substance as convenient and attract ive as not onlyto command ready satisfaction in use, but to admit of being transportedto a distance at a cost for lspace occupied in transit which would placeit without objection among the list of merchantable articles of trafficand transportation.

The above difficulties arise from the peculiar nature of thecrude-material, and any system or process that would overcome them-mu'st be based upon a knowledge of its texture and composition. i

Peat as found in the bog consists mainly of vegetable matter in a moreor less advanced state of decomposition, traversed by fibers and roots,which, through more or less extensive decay, are reduced to a state ofhollow capillary tubes, the bark or exterior skin of theroot being allthat remains of it entire. The mass of decomposed material or true peatis also cellular in its structure, and filled with water and air whenfirst taken from the bog. When dried these cells are freed from water,but not from air, so that the mass is then li ght, porous, andexceedingly friable, and is consumed quickly when burning. That it is asuperior article for fuel is well-known and universally acknowledged.If, then, it can be considerably reduced in bulk, made dense like coal,so as to stand a blast and endure under combustion aproportionately-greater length of time, be rendered tough or tenaciousinstead of friable, and at the same time be produced in such form thatit may be considered a clean fuel when compared with coal, preservinglikewise all its properties of generating intense heat, it is evidentthat it may be considered as in an attractive merchantablecondition, andif in addition to the process by which these results are obtained besimple, and the machinery used also simple and inexpensive, it isevident very desirable results in a business pointof view have beenattained.

Various efforts have been made to overcome the difculties that arise intreating peat, and by the use of artificial means to divest it of itsmoisture and reduce its bulk; but owin g to the peculiar structure andnatural characteristics ofthe crude material these efforts have all beenunsuccessful.

The attempts to accomplish the desired end by submitting the peat topressure have not met with success, for the water, being held in thecapillary tubes before mentioned, is not expelled ,by simple pressure,and remains inthe interior ofthe mass to be subseq uently expelled,

as before, by the tedious. process of drying, either by natural orartificial means. g

Theattempt has also been lnade to reduce peat to a more homogeneousstate, that it might become compact and less bulky as itdried, by rakingout and separa-ting the fibers from the thoroughlydecomposed portions;but the partly-decomposed bers proved to have so little strength that itbecame necessary to reduce the consistence of the peat by the additionof larger quantities of water, which it was afterward found difcult toeliminate.

After repeated and careful experiments it has been discovered that inorder to bring the peat into such a state that it will be as dry aspossible and at the same time capable of being packed or compressed intoa solid mass, it must first be submitted to pressure for the purpose ofcrnshingits masses and lumps and breaking1 up and destroying itscohesion, in order to prepare it to be operated upon by a rubbing orgrinding mechanism, to which it is subsequently submitted for thepurpose of destroying its cellular texture, as will be hereinafter moreparticularly described.

In theaccoinpan'yin g drawings, A represents the frame that supports themoving and stationary parts of the machine, and may be made of anysuitable material or form.

B and B' are cylinders of equal diameters, which revolve toward eac-hother in the direction indicated by the arrows. Above the cyl- .indersis placed a hopper, H, into which the crude peat is inserted. Below thecylinders B and B', and situated between them, is a standard, C, havinga hard grinding-surface on each side, which comes in contact with thesurface of the cylinders B and B'. This standard G, like the sidesl ofthe frame, rests upon a bed-piece, A', which may be supported in anydesired manner. A partition, E and E', form an iuclosnre on either sideof the standard, into which the peat enters after it has passed throughthe crushing and grinding operations.

'i and i' are openings through which the peat passes into a passage, n.1n this passage n is 'a piston or plunger,0, which is moved forward andbackward, and made of such a length that when one end is back, so as toexpose the entire opening t', the other end projects beyond the passageon the other side, as represented in Fig. 2.

At each end of the passage n isa cylinder, S and S', each of whichcontains two or more chambers, m. A rod, o', passes from one chamber tothe other. Each end of this rod is attached to a disk of the same sizeand shape otV the caliber o f the chamber. 'The rod o' is of such lengththat when one disk is back against the bottom of the chamber the disk onthe other end of the rod, which is in the other chamber, is forcedforward to the front end or mouth of the chamber, as shown in Fig. 2.

rIhe cylinders S and S' are revolved by means of an automatic adjustablesliding rod, p, having cogs on each end, which operate in combinationwith a cogged wheel, r, on the cylinder. The rod p is made of such alength that when the cylinder has been revolved so as to present theempty chamber m to the passage n the rod` p is detached from thecog-wheel. rEhe rod p is connected to a sliding block, z, by means of apin, on which it vibrates. It also has an arm, c, extending upward,which is acted upon by a pin, zr, projecting from the piston o. As soonas the piston o moves forward and is free from the chamber m the pin a'comes in contact with the arm c, which, acting as a lever, throws thecogged end of the rod p into gear with the cogged wheel on thecylinderwhich the piston is leaving. At the same time it throws the other endout of gear with the cogged wheel on the cylinder that the piston ismoving toward.

The cylinders B and B' and the standard (l are made hollow, and steam isintroduced for the purpose of drying or evaporating a por-` tion of themoisture that is in the peat as it is being prepared in the machine, sothat when it leaves the machine it is not necessary to subject it to anyfurther drying operation, it heilig ready for use. Hot air may also beinserted into the iuclosnre K and K' to aid in expelling the moisture,but it is believed the application of steam as above mentioned, as wellas to other parts of the machine, is all that is necessary, as the peat,before being inserted into the hopper H, is gathered from the surface ofthe bogmeadow in as dry a condition as possible.

The operation of this machine is as follows:

The peat is placed in the hopper H and conveyed hence between thecylinders B and B' through the grinding-surfaces of the standard C, intothe apartments K and K', at they same time crushing its masses, fibers,and cells preparatory to its being ground, which operation 'is performedas it passes through between the vcylinders and the standard-surfaces,where it is subjected to a rubbing and grinding process. At the sametime the high degree of heat generated by the steam evaporates orabsorbs the moisture in the peat and expands its tarry and adhesiveproperties. These cylinders B and B' perform several functions-viz z'feed-` ing, grinding,crushing-and are the means of applying heat forthepurposes above described. It is now found that the peat is completelyfree from air and in a homogeneous plastic mass, ready to be molded intoblocks or bricks, the water it contained having been expelled ordisseminated through the entire mass. It now passes from the apartment Kthrough the opening t' to the passage a, and as the piston o movestoward the cylinder S it conveysa quantity of peat in front of it, whichis forced into the chamber m, where it is compressed as the piston omoves to its extreme limit. As the piston o returns it performs a likeoperation on the other end, and causes the sliding rod p to move intogear, which revolves the cylinder S until the empty chamber is in linewith the passage a and the chamber containing the compressed peat isopposite to the pislton 0. As the piston returns it throws the rod pinto gear on the other side and out of gear with the cylinder that it isapproaching, so that one cylinder only is moved at a time, which is theone the piston is leaving. As the piston moves forward it forces thepeat against the disk on the rod o', driving it back against the bottomofthe chamber. At the same time the disk in the opposite chamber isdriven forward, forcing the brick of compressed peat out of the chamber,as represented in the drawings, Fig. 2. This operation is performed ateach end of the machine as the piston moves in one direction or theother.

Power may be applied to the piston and to the cylinders in an yk nownway, and, if desired, the action of the engine might be applied directlyto the plunger or piston o.

It is obvious that this machine might be applied, with very slightmodification, for a variet-y of purposes Without departing from its mainprinciple, which is the arrangement ot'` the cylinders Bv and B', incombination with the standard C, for the purpose of feeding, crushing,and grinding; also, the arrangement of the cylinders S and S', incombination with the plunger or piston o, with or without theejecting-rod o',) by which the compressing and ejecting process is doneautomatically as the plunger moves forward and backward.

Having thus fully described the nature, construction, and operation of-my improved machine for treating and preparing peat, what I claim asnew, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The cylinders B and B', in combination with the standard C, arrangedfor the purpose of feeding, crushing, and grinding, substantially as andfor the purpose herein set forth.

2. The application of heat to the different parts ot' the machine,substantially as and for the purpose herein described.

3. The cylinders S and S', having chambers m, in combination with theplunger 0, operating substantially as and for the purpose hereindescribed.

4. The piston o, having an endward movevment forward and backward, incombination with the feeding-openings t and i', operating substantiallyas and for the purpose herein specified.

5. The eljecting-rod o', provided with a disk in cach chamber, andoperating as herein described, for the purpose set forth.

6. The vibrating rod p, in combination with the cog-ged wheel r, andoperating substantially as described. f

ARTHUR MOFFATT.

Witnesses WM. P. GOPELAND, J AMEs N. EBY.

